Gaia: Goddess or thermostat

Abstract

This is a independent look at the concept of Gaia as a tightly coupled system, whose constituents are the biota and the physical environment. Within the system the biota, through normal mechanisms of evolution, unwittingly help regulate the environment within the bounds necessary for their survival. The example of maintaining a broad equilibrium of planetary transpiration is given. Some have given Gaia religious or poetical attributes, others see the concept as an intellectual tool which contributes to understanding of the relationship between animate and inanimate nature.